Traffic crisis at The Cut

Action demanded on parking chaos at Lough Lene during summer

A local councillor has warned that traffic and parking issues at Lough Lene have spiralled “out of all proportion”. Visitors regularly block roads, ignore safety rules, and light fires in public areas.

Speaking at the July meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, Cllr Alfie Devine said the situation had become “a long and ongoing saga” and that things were only getting worse during good weather.

“I was at Lough Lene the last two mornings. On Sunday, it was completely blocked. Locals can’t use the facility any more, many are avoiding it. I brought a child down at 11 o’clock and had to walk away,” said Cllr Devine.

He described how farming machinery was delayed for up to 30 minutes due to parked cars.

While welcoming the presence of a warden on site, Cllr Devine said he had to intervene to stop visitors lighting barbecues directly on the grass. “There were five lit at once. I had to show ID and ask them to put them out. There was also a bonfire burned the night before.”

He called for designated, marked parking on both sides of the access road at The Cut, widening of the carriageway to allow two-way traffic, and better regulation and enforcement through by-laws.

Cllr David Jones supported the call and said he personally witnessed more than 50 empty car park spaces while cars lined the roadside. “It’s unbelievable. People were parking illegally while there was plenty of space. I also saw dumped barbecues, still warm.”

He proposed temporary measures, such as bollards or double yellow lines, to maintain access for emergency vehicles.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly confirmed that the council had applied for outdoor recreation funding to develop the Lough Lene amenity. “If successful, additional car parking will be part of that,” she said.

She also noted that while council wardens are present and doing their best, enforcement of traffic laws falls under the remit of gardaí, particularly in areas outside of existing by-laws.

“People need to understand, just because one car is illegally parked doesn’t mean everyone else can do the same. If there’s no space, please go home. Imagine needing an ambulance and it couldn’t get through,” she said.

Wardens ‘powerless’ on parking fines

Elected members have called for a review of lakeshore by-laws to give community wardens power to fine drivers blocking access to amenities like Lough Lene. At the July district meeting, councillors described a safety risk at the popular north Westmeath lake due to “lawless” parking, fires, and dumped rubbish during good weather.

Cllr Niall Gaffney urged the council to explore revising local legislation. “If wardens can’t issue fines for parking, let’s empower them so they can.”

Director of services Deirdre Reilly said the Road Traffic Act already makes such parking illegal, but wardens cannot enforce it unless it falls within a designated by-law zone. “We’ll look at reviewing the by-laws this year as part of our work programme,” she said.

Wardens can issue fines for certain offences, such as lighting fires, but not for roadside parking outside of the existing car parks. “Unfortunately, Gardaí Síochána are stretched,” said Ms Reilly.

Cllr Ken Glynn welcomed recent fines issued at Tudenham but warned that behaviour is not improving. “Even after getting fined on Saturday, people were still there on Sunday. They say, ‘We’ve been drinking, we can’t drive’, and they stay put. It’s a total flouting of the law.”

He called for stronger enforcement and potentially larger fines, and asked whether fines are issued daily or only once per incident. “If they’re there all weekend, they should get a fine every day,” he said.

Catherine Darby, council official, said four or five fines were issued last weekend at Lough Lene and confirmed they would be happy to issue multiple fines per day if necessary.

Cllr Alfie Devine concluded by calling for swift action: “This facility has quadrupled in popularity over the last five years. Locals can’t even use it any more. We need regulation, enforcement, and proper infrastructure to meet the demand.”

Overhanging trees and wheelchair parking concerns

Parking issues at Lough Lene on busy weekends highlight the urgent need to repaint wheelchair-accessible parking spaces and improve enforcement, the July meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad was told.

Cllr David Jones said that people were parking in the designated spaces without badges, and that the situation needed to be investigated. In response to his question, the council confirmed that the road lining contractor would be tasked with repainting the disabled spaces at Lough Lene to meet minimum standards before the end of the summer.

Cllr Jones also raised concerns about trees overhanging the road from Glenidan to Oldcastle at Doyne’s Junction. He noted that the landowner had received letters in the past but had failed to cut the trees, and said that was part of a wider issue where landowners across the district were not carrying out hedge and tree cutting, despite being notified.

The council replied that a notice would be issued to the landowner instructing them to remove the trees and carry out the necessary work.